Is old age something worth striving for, Heike Bischoff-Ferrari?

However, healthy life expectancy in Europe (64 years on average) is trailing behind total life expectancy (80 years on average). Switzerland is Europe’s frontrunner in both total and healthy life expectancy — 84 and 71 years on average, respectively — creating an enormous economic and general societal advantage, with which Switzerland could position itself as a model country for healthy longevity. In comparison, Germany and the U.S. are facing huge economic and healthcare challenges as healthy longevity is declining.

In the last 10 years, science has established novel markers that directly measure biological aging. The measurement of these molecular markers in cohort studies found that men and women who are physically active and eat a healthy diet not only have fewer chronic diseases when they get older, but also present a younger biological age than their chronological age. Such analyses support healthy lifestyle factors as key levers that directly influence how we age. This opens up new opportunities to prevent chronic illnesses and loss of function efficiently.

Today, we know that our genes account for just a small proportion (10 to 30 percent) of the variability in our life expectancy. The rest (70 to 90 percent) is determined by our environment, socioeconomic factors and, crucially, our lifestyle. Lifestyle factors are now the most promising — and accessible — factors we can leverage to extend our healthy life expectancy. These include a healthy Mediterranean diet, walking 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day, social interaction, seven to eight hours of sleep, meditation or mindfulness training, learning new things and not smoking.